Safety envelope and opener



W. WEISS.

SAFETY ENVELOPE AND OPENER.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 2Q|1920.

Patented Aug. 29, 1922.

llNl'lED STATES W'ILLIAM EVEISS, OF BAYONNE, NEV JERSEY.

SAFETY ENVELOPE AND OPENER.

Matisse.

Application led December 29, 192D. Serial No. 433,821.

To all 107mm t may concern Be it known that l, llViLLiAM Vtniss, a citizen oi the United States, and a resident of Bayonne, in the county of Hudson and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Sai'iety Envelope and Opener, of which the Jfollowing is a full, clear, and exact specification.

rlhis invention relates to a container' belono'ing to a class of articles in stationery.

hy invention has for its objects primarily to provide an envelope designed to be utilized for holding letters, printed matter and other things to be sent through the mails and otherwise transported in a manner whereby the contents are arranged therein under seal so that should an attempt be made to surreptitiously extract the contents by steaming or otherwise opening' the usual aps of the envelope 'the contents will still be sealed against extraction, the envelope being so formed that its lower llap must be unsealed or its lower closed edge must be torn, in order to obtain access to the contents.

Another object of the invention is to provide an opener which is preferably in the form oi" a cord or line disposed under the flap of the inner member, and one end or' this cord is held to the inner member so that its other end protrudes out oit one coi-ner of the envelope to'allow being pulled crosswise ot the lapping upper flap ot the outer meinber and the flap of the inner member. The top of the envelope will then be torn open to allow access to its contents. f

A. further object of the invention is to provide a safety envelope ot a simple and elificient formation which may be made ot suitable material in any appropriate size.

lilith these and other' objects in view, the invention will be hereinafter vmore fully de` scribed with reference to the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specilication in which similar characters ot reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views, and will then be pointed out in the claims at the end of the description.

In the drawing', Figure 1' is a plan of the blanlr of the outer member of my improved safety envelope.

Fig. 2 is a plan ofthe inner member of the envelope.

' Fig. 3 is a plan of both members of the envelope when arranged before the flaps are sealed together.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 29, 1922.

.F ig. 4L is .a plan showing the lirst step taken when folding the envelope.

Fig. 5 is a plan showing the second step iii the iolding process.

Fig. 6 is a plan showing the third step in the -olding process. Fig. 7 isa plan showing the fourth step in the folding process.

Fig. 8 is a plan of the envelope when completely folded, and

Fig. 9 is a plan of the outer member of the envelope with a cord opener employed in conjunction therewith. y

The envelope has an outer member 10 and a seperate inner member 11, both ot which may be made oi' paper or other material adapted to be torn. The outer member is preierably oit a form common to the general types or envelopes, consisting of a substan` rally rectangular front 13, 14, a lower flap 15 and an upper flap 16, all of which are cut from a single blank, as 17.

I The side flaps 13 and 14 extend in opposite lateral directions from the ends of front section 12, and these enos are provided bv scoring the blank 17, as at A and B. The side vflaps taper outwardly, as shown, and the flap 14- is .somewhat longer than the flap 13 so that its end part will overlap the end part oit the lla-p when 'the side llaps are lfolf upon the front section of the outer member. The part ol' the Hap 13 adaptedv to lap uponthe end part of the flap 14- may be gummed, as at 1S, to allow the side flaps to be sealed together.

The lower lap 15 extends downwardly `from the lower lengthwise edo'e of the liront section 12 ol the outer member, and this lower edge is provided by scoring or `creasi1 1 r 1 L" ing ine blann 1i, as at L, between thelowei ends olf the ereasings il and B. The lower ila/p preferably tapers in somewhat a coneshape-oi" a size so thatits marginal .tree edges will overlap the lower edges of the side flaps 13 and la when the lower ilap is folded upon the side the lower flap adapted to lap upon the side as is gummed, as at 19, to permit the lower flap to be sealed to the side flaps.

l ie upper flap 15 protrudes upwardly trom the upper lengthwise edge of the front section' 12 oi the outer member 10, and this ripper edge is provided by scoring or creasing the blank, as at D, between the upper section 12, side flaps flaps, and the'part ot iio ends of the creasings A and B. The upper flap preferably tapers in somewhat a coneshape of a size so that its marginal free edge parts overlap the side flaps 13 and 11i and so that its tapered end part overlaps the tapered end part of the lower flap 15. The edge part of the upper flap is also gummed, as at 20, to allow the flap to be sealed to the other flaps when folded upon each other.

The inner member 11 has a substantially rectangular body or sheet section 21 and an upper flap 22. rlhe body section 21 is approximately rectangular of a size somewhat smaller than the front section 12 of the outer member 10. The flap 22 extends from the upper lengthwise edge of the body section, this upper edge being provided by scoring or creasing the blanlr 23 of the inner member crosswise, as at E, and the flap is tapered or substantially cone-shaped as well as being of a size so that its marginal free edge part will overlap the side flaps 13 and 14: and the lower iiap 15 of the outer member 10. The flap 22 of the inner member is also somewhat smaller than the upper flap 16 of the outer member, and the marginal edge of the flap 22 is gummed, as at 2li, to allow the flap to be sealed to the side iiaps and the lower flaps of the outer member when the flaps of both members are folded upon each other.

These parts of the envelope are assembled for forming them into the complete envelope by disposing the body section 21 and flap 22 of the inner member 11 upon the front section 12 4and upon the flap 16 of the outer member 10. The lengthwise edge as 21a, of the body section 21 may be sealed to the front section 12 of the outer member, The side flaps 13 and 1d of the outer member are folded upon the body section 21 of the inner member and these side flaps are sealed together.

A pocket or space 25 is thereby provided between the body section 21 of the inner member and the overlapping flaps with the entrance to the pocket being at the lower edge of the envelope or at the lower flap 15. The written letter or other article is placed into the pocket 25 through its entrance, and the iiap 22 of the inner'member is folded upon and sealed tothe sealed side flaps 13 and 14 of the outer member. The lower flap 15 .of the outer member is then folded upon and sealed to the scaled side flaps and flap of the inner member, after which the upper flap 16 of the outer member 10 is folded upon and sealed to the other sealed flaps. In event of an attempt being made to surreptitiously obtain access to the contents of the envelope by steaming or otherwise opening the flap 16 the effort will be frustrated, because of the contents still being inclosed in the pochet- 25 between the body section 21 of the inner member and lapping flaps as well as being sealed up by the lower iiap 15 of the outer member, and obviously it will be necessary to unseal the lower flap 15 to extract the contents. Such procedure is not likely to occur without detection.

ln order to permit the envelope to be readily opened by the rightful recipient of the envelope for extracting the contents without requiring the use of a separate opener or implement, l may employ in conjunction with the envelope an opener, as 26. The opener 26 is preferably in the form of a cord or line disposed across the crease E of the inner member 11 under the flap 22, and one end of this cord is glued or otherwise held, as at 26a, to the inner member so that the second end of the cord will protrude slightly beyond the envelope when it is sealed at the corner of the envelope opposite to its stcured end. rllhe opener or cord 26 will be disposed under the lapping flaps 22 and lo, and by pulling the cord by its free end crosswise of the folds of these iiaps toward the secured. end of the cord the envelope will be opened in the usual manner to allow the contents to be removed therefrom.

According to this invention envelopes may be made for use with or without the employment of the opener or cord 26. My invention also contemplates the utilization of the opener or cord, as 27, in conjunction with ordinary types of envelopes or in conjunction with a form of envelope, as shown in Fig. 9, which corresponds 'to the outer member 10 of the above described type of envelope hai/'ing the front section, not shown, side flaps 29, 30, lower flap 31 and upper flap 32, all being foldable and sealable in a fashion similar to that of the above mentioned member 10. The cord 27 disposed across the fold under the upper flap 31 of the envelope, and this cord is slightly longer than the width of the envelope. One end of the cord is glued or suitably secured to the envelope at one of its upper corners so that its free end will extend beyond the second upper corner of the envelope when the upper flap 32 is sealed. By then pulliiig` the free end part of the cord across the upper fold 0f the envelope it will be torn open to obtain access to the interior of the envelope.

ln the foregoing description, have embodied the preferred form of my invention, but l do not wish to be understood as limiting myself thereto, as l am aware that mod ifications may be made therein without departing from the principle -or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention, therefore I reserve to myself the right to make such changes as fairly fall within the scope thereof.

Having thus described my invention, 1 claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:-

and is held to the front 1. A safety envelope, comprising an outer member and a separate inner member, the outer member having a substantially rectangular front section with side flaps, a lower flap and upper flap, all folded upon the front section, and the inner member consisting of an approximately rectangular body section with a flap, said inner member being arranged within the outer member so that its body section lies upon and is held to the front section of the outer member under its flaps and the flap of the inner member lapping upon the side flaps under the lower flap of the outer member so that the top flap of the outer member overlaps the lower flap as well as overlapping the flap of the inner member, said flaps being scalable whereby a separate sheet when inserted in the envelope between the body section of the inner member and the overlapping flaps will be inaccessible if the folded edge of the upper Hap of the outer member be severed.

2. A safety envelope and opener, comprising an outer member and a separate inner member, the outer member having a substantially rectangular front section with side flaps, a lower flap and an upper flap all folded upon the front section, and the inner member consisting of an approximately rectangular body section with a Hap, said inner member being arranged within the outer member so that its body section lies upon section of the outer member under its flaps and the flap of the inner member lapping upon the side flaps under the lower flap of the outer member so that the top Hap of the outer member overlaps the lower flap as well as overlaping the flap of the inner member, said flaps being scalable whereby a separate sheet when inserted in the envelope between the body section of the inner member and the overlapping flaps will be inaccessible if the folded edge of the upper flap of the outer member be severed, and a cord arranged across the fold under the flap of the inner member and having one of its ends held to one corner of the inner member so that its second end protrudes from the opposite corner of the inner member to allow the envelope to be opened by directing the cord crosswise of said fold.

3. A safety envelope, comprising an outer envelope member and a separate inner member, the inner member consisting of a sheet section with a flap held within the envelope member so that its sheet section lies upon the front section of the envelope member under its flaps and the flap of the inner member being sealed upon the side flaps under the lower flap of the envelope member so that the top flap of the envelope member overlaps the lower flap as well as being sealed to the flap of the inner member whereby a separate sheet when inserted in the envelope between the body section of the inner member and the overlapping flaps will be inaccessible if the upper flap of the envelope member be unsealed.

4. A safety envelope and opener, comprising an outer envelope member and a separate inner member, the inner member consisting of a sheet section with a flap held within the envelope member so that its sheet section lies upon the front section of the envelope member under its liaps and the flap of the inner member being sealed upon the side flaps under the lower flap of the envelope member so that the top flap of the envelope member overlaps the lower flap aswell as being sealed to the flap of the inner member wherebyl a separate sheet when inserted in the envelope between the body section of the inner member and the overlapping flaps will be inaccessible if the upper flap of the `envelope member be sealed, and a cord arranged across the fold under the flap of the inner member and having one of its ends held to one corner of the inner member so that its second end protrudes from the opposite corner of the inner member to allow the member to be opened by directing the cord crosswise of the fold.

rl'his specification signed and witnessed this 28th day of December A. D. 1920.

WILLIAM WEISS. Witnesses :v

J. FRANK, J. FREDERICK CRYER. 

